THE NAPTIME STRUGGLE NO MORE

So the other day I posted a Facebook post that said something along the lines of "Help, my baby is an alien and driving me completely insane because she won't sleep" <--- Ok, not exactly those words but similar meaning. After getting all sorts off great advice from my friends and family, ranging from all ends of the spectrum I finally decided that the best advice I got was to let Penelope let ME know when she was ready to sleep. Within reason.

She's always been on a sleep schedule. Not because I made her, but more that I watched her patterns and wrote them down. When I found a common thread it was easier for me to know when she was tired by simply remembering the times. The problem with that is apparently babies evolve. Because apparently they are little human beings that don't stay in one space until the end of time.

For some odd reason I had a REALLY hard time figuring that out. Like spending 4+ hours a day trying to get this girl to nap, type of hard time. Like ready to throw myself off the balcony, frazzled hair, non eating, blocking myself off from her in another room...type of hard time.

And now looking back...as if it wasn't only just three days ago I figured this out. I can't help but laugh at myself because I really thought I was smarter then my daughters own sleep timer. You WILL go to sleep God help me! You WILL take your three naps a day like Babycenter says you need! Perhaps my first lesson in learning that my daughter really does know better then me (or Babycenter) what she needs and when she needs it.  I am not the messiah of intelligence of how her life should run.

When I figured this out, then everything turned into a cakewalk. I'm getting work done again, I can blog now, I have a clean outfit on and my makeup done... SHOCKER. Oh and Penelope? She's sleeping great.

The biggest lesson of the past few weeks?? Relax. Breathe. Pay attention to your kid. Go with their flow.

Chef le Peanut Burglar

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Burglar's First Pony

LIFE

I know that with the fitness post I inspired a few people. And I really had a hard time figuring out if I was even going to write about this. But then I decided that tons of women deal with this and it really is a shame not to mention it in my own story/blog.

I was steadily losing weight and super focused on my fitness goal when BOOM! I found out I was pregnant. And I thought it best to just silently stop doing any posts and just make the announcement once we reached the "safe point". Unfortunately just a few days shy of that point, I had a pretty traumatic miscarriage. 

It has been about a week and mentally I'm better now, physically still recovering. I don't want to go into super detail but one thing I kept thinking all day all night...what was the purpose? I don't get what I'm supposed to learn from this? 

And I decided I don't have to have every area of my life figured out and together. Because I pride myself of being in control of every aspect. Like, I'm the girl who always has "it" together. So I stopped trying to figure it out and started to take care of putting pieces back together. 

And at that moment I figured out that I'm kind of running on fumes. Giving 190% to everything and everyone around me, but not stopping to just...breath. And so my main goal right now, is to listen to all my loved ones and start to take care of myself. Because I'm obviously not superwoman.

So, I will be doing my goal posts. I will be focusing on getting my health and body back to where I want it to be. And I hope those of you who joined in with me can now keep ME motivated since I see you've been doing so awesome. 

Everyday will get a little easier, especially with the phenomenal support I get from my family.  And as for the cute little perfect angel from another planet that I get to call my daughter. She makes everything prettier, funnier, funner, happier, and easier. So onward until God decides to bless us with another little muncho. 

GREAT AND EASY HOMEMADE BABY FOOD

Whew this past few weeks has been an emotional and physical whirlwind for me. <--- More on that later. But I have been DRAIIINNNEDDDD, the long over exaggeration is completely necessary to let  you know exactly how much! And so I really wanted to make sure I stayed on track with Penelope's homemade foods since I haven't felt like being chef boyardee in the kitchen 24/7.

After getting a little creative I realized I was putting WAY too much thought and time into making foods specifically for her. Now before you write me off as sounding like a horrible parent for saying that let me explain.

She still gets the quality and the nutrients but I've just found easier ways to incorporate that. So now I feel confident in saying that making your own baby food is obviously cheaper but much easier then I'm sure you would think. Here's a couple really quick ways to make food for the muncho if your out of time, out of food, or just feeling lazy that day. And if you feel like being chef boyardee some days for your peanut more power to you! Personally I've found after preparing a whole pot of some fancy six ingredient, two hour long homemade recipe...of course she doesn't like it. So take note.

1. MAKE THEM AN EDIBLE VERSION OF YOUR FOOD:

    This obviously works better for some foods then others. What I love to do this with is soup. I tend to cook something brothy once a week. It serves a lot of people, it tastes better the longer you have it, and it's super easy and affordable. So I like to do this with homemade stews with tons of veggies and some meat. I'll add in some brown rice (we always have rice here, I'm asian lol) and blend a bit. Also chili would be great. Now when you get into more solids like spaghetti, enchiladas etc. I still feel like this is doable but just process it up with a little bit of water to make it more of a mash. Still haven't tried that yet though. I'm actually trying it tonight with some pesto pasta. To all, I'll add a cube of pure vegetable that I've already frozen like peas, green beans, kale.

2. FINGER FOODS

I started Penelope on purees at 5 months but then started adding in finger foods at 7 months. I got a little freaked out at first since she didn't know how to swallow yet she gagged the first few days. But after talking to other moms that's a normal reaction as they are learning. Big chunks of watermelon, sweet potatoes, tofu, strawberry...anything soft she's eaten. She loves the independence of it and I love that I can just hand her a chunk of something.

3. QUICK ONE INGREDIENT PUREE

So if you don't have a steamer or if you have a massive tri-level clean up nightmare steamer like moi, this is a great go to as well. Buy bags of organic frozen veggies - the biggest range I've seen has been Whole Foods but Safeway is great too. They are more expensive then regular bags but you pay for quality....and no pesticides in your little ones body. Pop them in the microwave for two minutes, add some water into your blender and magically you have a mass amount of veggies to serve. Canned organic vegetables are cheaper but there is salt added so be careful there.

4. EASY MASH

As for Penelope's fruits I do a ton of manual mashing that takes like a minute. Her favorite right now is strawberry and bananas which I just mash with a fork. Mangos, grapes, pluots, cherries, blueberries. Pretty much anything. If there is a skin I do remove that so she can't choke on it.

This is all food we have on hand and use ourselves. With the frozen bags there is leftovers a lot which I'll throw into a recipe for the night. So keeping the cost down is really great but also, I love knowing EXACTLY what is going into her belly. Do you make homemade food? Tell me some tips or recipes your little one loves.

A satisfied customer after a food expedition. <3